overexploitation

Examples of overexploitation in the following topics:

• Overharvesting

  • Overharvesting, also called overexploitation, refers to harvesting a renewable resource to the point of diminishing returns.
  • However, unregulated and inappropriate harvesting could potentially lead to overexploitation, ecosystem degradation, and loss of biodiversity; further, it can negatively impact the rights of the communities and states from which the resources are taken.
  • The natural outcome of harvesting common resources is their overexploitation.
  • Overexploitation of species can also result in cascade effects, particularly if a habitat loses its apex predator.
  • In turn, the unchecked prey can then overexploit their own food resources until population numbers dwindle, possibly to the point of extinction.